Lion Cubs: 7 Interesting Facts
The first week of June 2020 saw us welcome four adorable lion cubs to the family that lives in the wild at Karietga Game Reserve in the East Coast region of South Africa. We are thrilled to report that the mother and father are doing well and the cubs are growing quickly. They have been introduced to the rest of the pride and are now meeting each other for the first time.
In celebration of their first birthday, we wanted to share some fun facts with you about lion cubs. Here are 7 things you might not know about lions:
1. Lion Cubs: Facts About Lion Pregnancy
Lion cubs are born blind, deaf, hairless, helpless, and covered in thick black skin. They don’t open their eyes until around five weeks of age. Their ears do not develop until they reach one month old. At birth, a lioness weighs around 200 pounds and measures approximately 4 feet long. She typically nurses her cubs every day for about seven minutes.
The average lifespan of a lioness is 10-15 years. However, some females live longer. One known lioness lived to be 21 years old.
2. Lion Cub Birth Facts
Lion cubs are born into a world where there are many dangers. They must learn how to survive. One way they do this is by learning what is around them. As soon as a baby cub opens his/her eyes he/she begins looking around. If it sees something interesting like a big cat, it will follow it. But if it doesn’t see anything, it will go back to sleep.
Lions are social animals. Females live together in prides. Male lions don’t live with females, but they do spend time together. Males tend to stick close together because they fight off predators together.
When a female gives birth to one cub, she leaves the rest of the group behind. She does this because she wants to protect them. While she is gone, the male will take care of everything. He’ll make sure the cubs eat well and keep warm. When the female returns, she’ll find her cubs sleeping. Then she’ll nurse them. This helps strengthen the bond between the mother and her cubs.
The cubs grow fast. By three months old, they’re already weighing over 50 pounds. At this age, a cub will begin eating meat. Lions are carnivores, meaning they eat meat. Meat is high in protein. Protein makes up most of a lion’s body weight.
A lion cub will start walking around five months old. After another month, he/she will start running.
3. Lion Cub Facts: The First Few Months
Lion cubs are born blind, deaf and helpless. Their eyes open at around 5 weeks old. At birth, they weigh about 2 pounds and stand no taller than 3 feet tall. They begin walking at about 10 to 15 days old and continue to develop throughout infancy. During the first three months, they are completely dependent on their mother for everything. She keeps them hidden from other males and teaches them how to hunt. Once they reach four months old, they become independent hunters in the pride.
4. Lion Cub Fur Facts
Lions are one of the most popular big cats around. They are large, powerful animals and can weigh up to 500 pounds. They live in prides of about 15 members. Males tend to grow faster than females, reaching sexual maturity at 3 to 4 years old. Females typically reach full size at 5 to 7 years of age.
The lion cub starts out with a rough coat of dark grayish-brown hair. As it grows older, the hair becomes lighter and finer. By 2 to 3 months, the young cub begins to develop spots on his body. These spots become less distinct as he matures. His mane develops during the third month. At birth, a male lion weighs approximately 30 pounds while a female weighs 25 pounds.
5. How Long Do Lion Cubs Drink Milk?
Lion cubs only drink milk during the first ten weeks of life. After that, they switch over to solid food. This is because it takes about ten weeks for the mother to produce enough colostrum, which helps her baby develop properly. Colostrum contains antibodies that help protect against disease. Once the lion cubs are ten months old, they start eating meat. They begin to eat insects like grasshoppers and termites.
There are many different types of lions. Lions from Africa live in open savannah areas. These animals are known as African lions. There are also Asian lions living in India, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, China, Laos, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei Darussalam, East Timor, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Kiribati, Micronesia, Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, Cook Islands, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Guam, American Samoa, Northern Mariana Islands, Federated States of Micronesia, Marianas Islands, Republic of Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao, Christmas Island, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and French Polynesia.
6. Lion Cubs Eat Meat
Lion cubs begin to taste meat around 3 months old. They are fed milk and honey for the first few weeks, but once they reach about six months old, they start to eat meat. This makes sense since lions are carnivores.
The first meat that this group ate was a warthog carcass. Warthogs are large herbivorous mammals native to Africa. Lions hunt them because they are easy prey. A lion can kill a warthog in less than 10 minutes, and it takes up to 20 minutes to bring down a zebra.
As the cubs grow older, they become better hunters, and they learn how to hunt larger game such as wildebeest, impala, kudu, waterbuck, Thomson gazelle, giraffe, buffalo, elephant, hippo, crocodile, rhino, leopard, cheetah, ostrich, emu, and even sharks.
7. Lion Cub Facts About Hunting
Lions are known for being one of the most dangerous animals on earth. They kill hundreds of people every year. But even though lions are fierce hunters, it doesn’t mean they don’t want to play. In fact, they do play quite a lot—especially with each other! Lions live in prides, where there are usually three adult males, four adult females, and their offspring. These families spend much of their time together, playing, grooming, and resting. While they’re out roaming, the family stays close together and follows the same path. This helps keep the pride safe.
When lions are born, they weigh about 4 pounds and are blind and hairless. At birth, a baby lion is called a kitten. As he gets older, he starts gaining weight and his eyes start opening. He begins following the rest of the group around, learning how to hunt. By the time he reaches 2 years old, he’ll know how to hunt almost completely on his own. His hunting skills will improve over the next few months, too.
By 3 years old, a male lion will begin to develop manes. These manes help him look bigger and stronger. Then, when he’s ready, he’ll go off into the wild to find a pride of his own.